A cellular communication network is typically formed between a plurality of mobile devices, often referred to user equipment (“UE”), and a network of stationary infrastructure equipment, often referred to as “base stations” or “node Bs”. Generally described, a mobile services provider will distribute individual infrastructure equipment throughout a geographic area such that coverage areas of the individual infrastructure equipment overlap. A telecommunication device within the coverage area of one or more infrastructure equipment can communicate over the cellular communication network.
Telecommunication devices are typically configured to connect to a specific infrastructure equipment within a mobile network. For example, when a telecommunication device is activated or turned on, it attempts to connect to infrastructure equipment and register to the location area of the infrastructure equipment. Registering informs the mobile telephone network that the telecommunication device can be paged through the location area of the infrastructure equipment. In idle mode the telecommunication device regularly receives messages sent by the infrastructure equipment in order to detect paging messages indicating incoming calls and other messages. If the telecommunications device receives signals from multiple infrastructure equipment, the telecommunications device can select infrastructure equipment based on signal strength.
In many instances, users of telecommunications equipment are mobile. As such, the signal strength received by a telecommunications device may vary greatly depending on factors, such as rate of movement, geographic barriers, etc. Because most communication networks can provide overlapping coverage areas for the infrastructure structure equipment, most wireless communication protocols facilitate a handover procedure in which a telecommunications device is capable of connecting to different infrastructure equipment without losing an existing communication channel/connection.